Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Connellsville’s library is a branch of Carnegie Free Library, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size
Connellsville’s library is the Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville, a branch of Carnegie Free Library, which serves 31,989 people and lent 24K items last year.
The short version on Connellsville’s library
The Carnegie Free Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Carnegie Free Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
43% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 23%. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981. Today’s library there has 14,700 square feet. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Carnegie Free Library system offered 173 programs last year, 5.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 173 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 70 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Connellsville’s library is a branch of Carnegie Free Library, so they cover the whole system (31,989 people), not just the Connellsville branch.
What’s behind Connellsville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Connellsville is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #80 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Connellsville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Connellsville
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Connellsville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Connellsville’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1981
Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville, 299 S Pittsburgh St., Connellsville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carnegie Free Library branch.
New in Connellsville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Free Library
Carnegie Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 8, 1981. It is significant for its education and social history at the local level.
Carnegie Free Library is a historic Carnegie library building located at Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was designed and built in 1901, with funds partly provided by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie provided $50,000 toward the construction of the Connellsville library. The grant was commissioned by Carnegie on April 22, 1899; it was the 13th library that he commissioned in America.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Carnegie Free Library serves 31,989 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carnegie Free Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,486 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Connellsville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $217K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $372K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $217K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,143 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connellsville | Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville fine-free | — | 43 | A− |
| Connellsville Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Dunbar Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| South Connellsville | None of its own | — | — | A− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville is one branch of Carnegie Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 31,989 people it serves.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Connellsville
Does Connellsville have a public library?
Yes: Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville, 299 S Pittsburgh St., is a branch of Carnegie Free Library, which serves 31,989 people. The branch is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Connellsville’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Connellsville’s civic life grade?
A− Connellsville is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #80 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Connellsville.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.